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Managing the site: Using the "Topic" content type to generate dynamic lists of content

The system includes a flexible means of generating dynamic content lists based on criteria you specify. This document provides an introduction for the Topic content type and how to use it.

The Topic content type (see "Topic" on the "add new item" list), is
a flexible way to generate lists of content dynamically. A topic is
essentially a set of search criteria that behaves like a piece of
content. This content type is used in the CPSR site for the Home page,
the Issues folders (for the news and other files lists), and the Recent
news page.

When you add a topic content object, you will need to provide
information for the content and its functioning. The two fundamental
parts of a topic include:

On the "edit" screen: Basic content information (short name, Title,
description, which work the same as any other content type), plus the
option to limit the number of pieces of content to list. To limit the
number of displayed objects, check the box and choose the number.

The "criteria". The topic is a set of search criteria that
determine what content to display. Use this interface to add/edit
criteria and to set the ordering criteria.

Criteria for topics

Before you set any criteria, think about what you want to have
happen. It is helpful to make notes about: what kind of content you
want to display, what the characteristics of the content are (where it
is stored, if it has particular keywords or authors or other elements),
and how you would like the content to display. Once you have determined
that, you can set up a topic to implement the changes.

A suggestion for setting up topics inlcudes two pieces: publishing
rules and locating the content.

Respect publishing rules

Consider adding a first criteria to limit the displayed objects to
those that are published. This ensures that the topic only displays
what has been approved by site managers for publishing. To do so (from
the "criteria" screen:

Find the "Add new search criteria" box.

In the "Field name" list, select "review_state" from the list of
options.

In the "Criteria type" list, select "exact text value"

Click "Add".

When you see that the criteria has added at the top of the page
(and the page reloaded), write "published" into the box for the
criteria Value.

Click "Save"

Criteria for finding the content

Use the set of criteria necessary to identify the content in the
system (examples below). Examples of common criteria include:
keywords, path, and content type. All of these are done from the
"criteria" view. On this page, find the "add new search criteria" box
to do the following.

To add a keyword criteria:

In the "Field name" list, select "subject" from the list of
options.

In the "Criteria type" list, select "exact text value"

Click "Add".

When you see that the criteria has added at the top of the page
(and the page reloaded), write the keyword into the box for the
criteria Value exactly as it appears on the keyword list
(visible from the "properties" view). Note that for Issues, the
keywords are of the form: "Issue:privacy and civil liberties". The
leading "Issues:" is necessary.

Click "Save"

To add a path (URL/location) criteria:

In the "Field name" list, select "path" from the list of
options.

In the "Criteria type" list, select "exact text value" (for one
single possible path/URL) or "logical AND or OR list of values".

Click "Add".

When you see that the criteria has added at the top of the page
(and the page reloaded), write the path into the box for the criteria
Value. The format is from the root of the Zope instance (NOT the web
site). For the CPSR site, the format is thus: /cpsr/news/ for the news
folder.

Click "Save"

To add a content type criteria:

In the "Field name" list, select "portal_type" from the list of
options.

In the "Criteria type" list, select "portal types values"

Click "Add".

When you see the criteria added in the top of the page, select the
types that you want from the list. Hold down the control key to select
multiple types. Note that for the common content types (link, news,
file, etc) there are two instances of each type: one with "CMF" before
the name and one without - for example CMFEvent and Event should both
be selected. Note 2: for "web pages" select Document and
CMFDocument.